MMS Celebrates Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip

What can I say that hasn't already been said? I can't express the sorrow music fans and my Canadian friends are feeling any better than a heartbroken Justin Trudeau, "We are less as a country without Gord Downie in it", and I won't attempt to. What I will do is celebrate the life of a man who was so integral to the music and to the national consciousness of his country that I'm not sure I can ever fully appreciate it as a foreigner.

First up we have Canadian legends and Hip contemporaries Blue Rodeo covering "Bobcaygeon", my absolute favorite of the band's countless songs. It wasn't a song that was sweeping in scale or in scope, but it was a funny, occasionally dark, and deeply personal reflection on the little moments in a person's day that bring joy.

Next up we have a cover of "Courage (for Hugh MacLellan)" by the multi-hyphenate Canadian dynamo Sarah Polley. Actor, writer, director, master storyteller...and a singer of surprising vulnerability, turning in a heart-wrenching cover of The Hip for the soundtrack of Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter.

Finally, we have another of The Strombo Show's excellent tributes, this one of MMS favorite Stars and their version of "What Blue". This track, from their final studio album, was another gut punch song about the the ups and downs, the elation and recriminations, of a relationship. Who better demonstration of that resilience than the dueling and dancing vocals of Torq Campbell and Amy Millan?

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